WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Professors in the Department of English at Missouri State University-West Plains have announced the winners in their second annual Shakespearean Sonnet contest for area middle/junior high and high school students.
The contest was held in honor of famed poet William Shakespeare’s 450th birthday on April 23, 2014, and in celebration of April as National Poetry Month, according to organizer Dr. Phillip Howerton, associate professor of English. He said 93 entries were received from numerous schools throughout Missouri State-West Plains’ extended 10-county service area.
Two categories of poetry, sonnet and free verse, were offered to two age divisions based on grade level, seventh through ninth grades and 10th through 12th grades. First-place winners received a $50 Drago/Missouri State University College Store gift card, second-place winners received a $25 Drago/Missouri State College Store gift card, and third-place winners received a $10 Drago/Missouri State College Store gift card. All winners also received a certificate.
Howerton said each poem had to be a reaction to one of the following paintings, all of which are readily available on the Internet: Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, American Gothic by Grant Wood, The Scream by Edvard Munch, The Old Guitarist by Pablo Picasso, The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali, Breezing Up (A Fair Wind) by Winslow Homer, The Melancholy and Mystery of a Street by Giorgio De Chirico, A Luncheon at Bougival by Auguste Renoir and Peasant Wedding Feast by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.
Winners in the seventh through ninth grade sonnet category were: First place – Stephanie Goshorn, Faith Christian Academy; second place – Melissa Goshorn, Faith Christian Academy; third place – Cheyenne Cole, Willow Springs High School.
Winners in the seventh through ninth grade free verse category were: First place – Ciara Cotter, Bakersfield School; second place – Cherokee Carney, Willow Springs High School; third place – Joy Grover, Licking High School.
Winners in the 10th through 12th grade sonnet category were: First place – Alex Priest, Faith Christian Academy; second place – Caleb McLaughlin, Faith Christian Academy; third place – Tyler Figley, Willow Springs High School.
Winners in the 10th through 12th grade free verse category were: First place – Lucas Roberts, Faith Christian Academy; second place – Chelsea Hopkins, Faith Christian Academy; third place – Tyler Figley, Willow Springs High School; honorable mention – Tristan Fleetwood, Mountain Grove High School.
For more information about the contest and how to enter next year’s event, contact Howerton at 417-255-7285.